
Tariffs, and Trump’s entire economic agenda, were just thrown into chaos
CNN
A US federal court’s ruling Wednesday against President Donald Trump’s authority to levy some of his most sweeping tariffs may have also dealt a serious blow to the president’s entire economic agenda.
A US federal court’s ruling Wednesday against President Donald Trump’s authority to levy some of his most sweeping tariffs may have also dealt a serious blow to the president’s entire economic agenda. Trump’s core economic policy has been his historic tariffs, but the administration has described its aggressive trade actions as just one leg of a three-legged stool. Built on tariffs, spending cuts and tax cuts, Trump’s economic agenda relies on all three components to stand strong. But a three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade blocked Trump’s global tariffs, which he imposed citing emergency economic powers. Those trade actions include the “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs, 10% universal tariffs and the tariffs aimed at preventing fentanyl from entering the United States. The three-legged economic stool just lost a leg, at least for now. Without trade, Trump’s whole economic policy plan could come crashing down. Historic tariffs have persuaded dozens of US trading partners to come to the table to make deals with Trump. In theory, those trade deals could open up foreign markets to more US goods, benefitting US manufacturers and farmers. Revenue from Trump’s tariffs, meanwhile, could, at least in part, help pay for Trump and congressional Republicans’ massively expensive tax cuts, that could boost economic growth and add certainty to the markets by raising the debt ceiling. Trump’s deregulation and spending cuts, particularly via the Department of Government Efficiency, could also reduce the government’s costs and negate some of the impact of the tax cuts on the surging federal debt.













